October 16, 2013
Chariho Middle School
CT: Stephen Cormier
7th/8th Grade Science
Observation/Reflection #3: A Matter of Style
Choose one of the prompts below:
During this visit, you should work with one or more groups of students if you haven't already, and observe your teacher doing the same. For this journal entry, describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in his or her classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students.
Observation:
In my visits to my middle school cooperating teacher's classes at Chariho Middle School, I have had several opportunities to observe his teaching style.
During my first visit, the seventh graders were working on a density lab where they needed to identify water among three mystery liquids. My teacher turned the lab into a scenario where the students were stranded on an island and came across three pools. Two were poison and one was water, and thankfully they had science equipment on the island so they could determine the densities of each liquid and find the one that was closest to 1.00 g/ml^3.
The second time I came to Chariho Middle School was day two of NECAP testing. My cooperating teacher had seventh graders for last block, and were understandably slightly more talkative and off-task. Using stern reminders and other methods of redirection, my teacher was able to keep the students' attention until the end of the day. He was also lenient with them and did not yell or issue commands, because as he told me later, that they had already had a lot of work.
On my third visit, I observed an interaction between my cooperating teacher and a eighth grade student that was with other students completing group work. My teacher was energetic and engaged the student in conversation so that he could lead her towards the correct answer.
During this last visit, my fourth time in my cooperating teacher's classroom, a seventh grader did not the units for mass, volume, and density. My cooperating teacher has a canister of Play-Doh at his desk, and told the student that he would throw small balls of Play-Doh at him until he would remember the units. The student had a confused look on his face and then my teacher gave a brief explanation on the units. Once finished, he asked the student, "What is the unit of mass?" The student did not answer, so my teacher through a ball of Play-Doh at him. The student laughed, my teacher asked again, and the student gave a wrong answer. He then had another ball thrown at him. The next time he was asked, the student correctly answered with grams. My cooperating teacher congratulated the student, and he picked up the Play-Doh.
Reflection:
My cooperating teacher tries to foster positive relationships with all his students. He understands that students need a positive environment and encouragement to succeed as analytical learners, but also has good management techniques that establishes limits on student behavior and fun. Students understand that my teacher is positive but also fair, in that they can have fun (like with the student that had Play-Doh thrown at) but the teacher is in control and has set boundaries (like with the reminders to stay on task even after a long NECAP testing day). My cooperating teacher has a high-degree of "withitness" and genuinely cares about the students, to the point where I have even heard a couple of students openly say that my teacher is their favorite on the team. He empathized with them after taking NECAPs and knows what students are capable of doing. My teacher maintains high expectations that are uniform across all the classes, from seventh to eighth grade and from the inclusion class to the non-inclusion class.
When I become a teacher, I would feel very fortunate to be in a middle school, and I would want to operate a classroom very similar to my cooperating teacher. I want students to look forward to coming into my classroom because they know I will help them in both school work and outside issues. I want to be available to them and I want to see them succeed, like any teacher would want. I believe in having a sense of humor in order to relate to the students and to start a relationship with them. I also believe that a teacher needs a strong sense of justice, in that it's okay to have fun but that there are strict limits and boundaries. A fair teacher will model strong social and moral development for students that are still growing and figuring themselves out. My goal will not be creating only scientific minds, but to help in a student's growth into a well-rounded and successful individual.
Visit #4
October 16, 2013Chariho Middle School
CT: Stephen Cormier
7th/8th Grade Science
Observation/Reflection #3: A Matter of Style
Choose one of the prompts below:Observation:
In my visits to my middle school cooperating teacher's classes at Chariho Middle School, I have had several opportunities to observe his teaching style.
During my first visit, the seventh graders were working on a density lab where they needed to identify water among three mystery liquids. My teacher turned the lab into a scenario where the students were stranded on an island and came across three pools. Two were poison and one was water, and thankfully they had science equipment on the island so they could determine the densities of each liquid and find the one that was closest to 1.00 g/ml^3.
The second time I came to Chariho Middle School was day two of NECAP testing. My cooperating teacher had seventh graders for last block, and were understandably slightly more talkative and off-task. Using stern reminders and other methods of redirection, my teacher was able to keep the students' attention until the end of the day. He was also lenient with them and did not yell or issue commands, because as he told me later, that they had already had a lot of work.
On my third visit, I observed an interaction between my cooperating teacher and a eighth grade student that was with other students completing group work. My teacher was energetic and engaged the student in conversation so that he could lead her towards the correct answer.
During this last visit, my fourth time in my cooperating teacher's classroom, a seventh grader did not the units for mass, volume, and density. My cooperating teacher has a canister of Play-Doh at his desk, and told the student that he would throw small balls of Play-Doh at him until he would remember the units. The student had a confused look on his face and then my teacher gave a brief explanation on the units. Once finished, he asked the student, "What is the unit of mass?" The student did not answer, so my teacher through a ball of Play-Doh at him. The student laughed, my teacher asked again, and the student gave a wrong answer. He then had another ball thrown at him. The next time he was asked, the student correctly answered with grams. My cooperating teacher congratulated the student, and he picked up the Play-Doh.
Reflection:
My cooperating teacher tries to foster positive relationships with all his students. He understands that students need a positive environment and encouragement to succeed as analytical learners, but also has good management techniques that establishes limits on student behavior and fun. Students understand that my teacher is positive but also fair, in that they can have fun (like with the student that had Play-Doh thrown at) but the teacher is in control and has set boundaries (like with the reminders to stay on task even after a long NECAP testing day). My cooperating teacher has a high-degree of "withitness" and genuinely cares about the students, to the point where I have even heard a couple of students openly say that my teacher is their favorite on the team. He empathized with them after taking NECAPs and knows what students are capable of doing. My teacher maintains high expectations that are uniform across all the classes, from seventh to eighth grade and from the inclusion class to the non-inclusion class.
When I become a teacher, I would feel very fortunate to be in a middle school, and I would want to operate a classroom very similar to my cooperating teacher. I want students to look forward to coming into my classroom because they know I will help them in both school work and outside issues. I want to be available to them and I want to see them succeed, like any teacher would want. I believe in having a sense of humor in order to relate to the students and to start a relationship with them. I also believe that a teacher needs a strong sense of justice, in that it's okay to have fun but that there are strict limits and boundaries. A fair teacher will model strong social and moral development for students that are still growing and figuring themselves out. My goal will not be creating only scientific minds, but to help in a student's growth into a well-rounded and successful individual.